Shadow Fighter

Sarita Devi and Her Extraordinary Journey

In spite of a career stretching over a decade, Laishram Sarita Devi had never quite been in the limelight as much as her fellow boxer M.C. Mary Kom. Such was the story until the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, where she lost the semi-final bout, which many, including she, believed she had won. Sarita protested against the judges’ decision in the most public way possible – by refusing to accept her bronze medal. She was punished for this ‘misconduct’ and banned from boxing for a year. The nation, including sports legends like Sachin Tendulkar, rallied behind her and appealed on her behalf. Shadow Fighter is a chronicle of Sarita Devi’s journey from a small village in Manipur to becoming one of the best boxers in Asia. A gripping biography as well as an impassioned look at the state of women’s boxing in India, this is a must-read for those hoping to get a sense of the ground realities of any sport in India that is not cricket.

Suprita Das is a journalist with NDTV, where she has been reporting and writing on sport for over a decade. She has covered two editions of the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games so far, apart from several other national and international tournaments. She won the RedInk Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2015. Shadow Fighter is her first book.